Grant – Stewart Bursary Fund
Grant – Stewart Bursary Fund
From the bombast of international musical productions, to the subdued funk of smooth jazz, to the classrooms of Fanshawe College, Duncan Grant was a musician whose versatility and dedication was matched only by his strength of spirit. Passing away after losing his battle with pancreatic cancer, his legacy lives on through his music, his family, and the Duncan Grant Bursary Fund.
It was Colin Stewart, a friend Duncan had known since grade school, who thought of doing something in Duncan’s name after he passed away in 2017. With a generous donation from Chris Potter, another childhood friend of Duncan’s, they started a private fund.
Duncan’s sister Allison came up with the idea of moving the fund to London Community Foundation. The Foundation’s flexibility, donor support, and services like issuing tax receipts made the choice an easy one.
Each year, the Duncan Grant Bursary Fund will support a student at St. Mary Choir & Orchestra Catholic School who wants to pursue a career in music. The money can go towards lessons or even the purchase of an instrument.
“Once a year, I’m going to go to the school and tell a little story about Dunc,” says his brother Cam, who helped establish the fund. “This could still be going a hundred years from now. That’s the point.”
In 2023, Duncan’s family changed the fund name to the Grant – Stewart Bursary Fund following Colin Stewart’s passing, so that the fund would honour both their legacies.